Apr 30, 2019

The wait is over and Seattle finally has a chance to share its style story with the world! The MOHAI Seattle Style: Fashion/Function exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, May 4th and will be on view until October 14th. The exhibit features fashion that was made, worn, and styled in Seattle from the mid-1800s to the present. Curated by MOHAI's Collection Specialist for Costumes and Textiles Clara Berg, the exhibit is informative, exciting, and will likely disrupt any preconceived notions you may have had about Seattle fashion.

"Seattle has a rich history of clothing makers and style leaders," said Berg. "Outdoor gear, casual wear, and grunge are connected to key parts of our history and had a national and international impact. There are many stories of high fashion in Seattle as well - people who wore it, stores that imported it, and designers who made it."

Highlights of the exhibit include a chevron print hostess dress circa 1971 that was sold by Seattle retailer John Doyle Bishop, a green wool ski jacket circa 1948 made by the Seattle Woolen Company, a silk Schiaparelli butterfly print evening gown made in Paris and worn in Seattle around 1937, a pair of 1994 Union Bay short overalls, Tommy Bahama Hawaiian print shirts, and even a beanie and sweater worn in the early 90s by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

The exhibit is accompanied by a companion book which was edited by Berg and features a forward by Seattle-based fashion designer Luly Yang. In the book, you'll find an overview of each thematic section of the exhibit along with the stories that bring each piece to life. Eager fashion fans will get to dive deeper into the stories of treasured Seattle brands like Filson, REI, Nordstrom, and Eddie Bauer, while also learning about some of the contemporary brands in the city like Buki, who is best known for its innovative fiber technology.

Sponsors of the exhibit include Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, ArtsFund, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and more. Here are 5 things you need to know about the new exhibit opening to the public on Saturday, May 4th.

#1 - The exhibit was the brainchild of curator Clara Berg
Clara recognized that people often dismissed Seattle fashion or questioned its existence altogether, but her role as Collections Specialist for Costume and Textiles provided her with rare insight into the museum's archive of over 30,000 garments, accessories, and flat textiles. She knew Seattle was long overdue to tell its style story and that motivated her to bring this exhibit to life.

#2 - The exhibit was a group effort
Over 30 members of the Seattle fashion community shared their unique fashion insight with MOHAI over the past year as part of the advisory committee for the exhibit. The group included Jill Donnelly of Baby & Company, designer Suk Chai of SCHAI, Davora Lindner of Prairie Underground, Colin Berg of Eddie Bauer, and more.

#3 - The companion book is a must-have
I can't say enough good things about the hardcover companion book that accompanies the exhibit. Written by Clara Berg with a foreword by Luly Yang, this book covers Seattle fashion in a way its never been explored before. There are so many interesting stories featured in the book that truly help readers understand Seattle's signature style and how it's evolved into what it is today.

#4 - The fashion programming is really good
The museum has curated an epic line-up of programming to support the exhibit including lectures on ethical fashion, new Behind the Seams events hosted by curator Clara Berg, 30-minute Seattle style tours, a fashion show featuring the work of student designers at Seattle Pacific University, a full Seattle style month in September, and more. View the full MOHAI calendar of events here.#5 - This exhibit is helping to change the narrative about Seattle fashion
As someone who's been blogging about the Seattle style scene since 2008, I am SO EXCITED to see this exhibit finally come to life. We have so much to celebrate and be proud of. The fact of the matter is, we have contributed so much to the global style scene by being exactly who we are: innovators and rule breakers.

MOHAI is located in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood at 860 Terry Ave. N. Learn more about the style exhibit here.

Apr 24, 2019

Tickets are ALMOST gone to the 4th Annual Gossip & Glamour Style Summit taking place May 14th at MOHAI. It has been a true honor producing this event over the past four years to help bring the style blogging community together in real life and I can tell you first hand, you don't want to miss this amazing, only-happens-once-a-year event. Yes, I'm partial, but as someone who has been blogging in the Seattle market since 2008, I can tell you that this event is unlike anything you've experienced before because it's hyper-local and incredibly focused on market-specific tips, techniques, and strategies for growth. This is the only fashion event in Seattle that brings the blogging community offline for a full day of connection and community-building to talk about what really matters, in real time. It was hard to narrow down the list, but here are the top 5 reasons you need to attend the Gossip & Glamour Style summit this year:

#1 - The line-up of speakers is amazing
This year we focused heavily on building a diverse group of panelists who could each chime in with their own unique point of view and experience. The line-up includes Melody Todd of Honest Chatter, Lestraundra Alfred of The Balanced Black Girl, April Pride Of Like Minds, Liz Kang Yates of K Banana, social media strategist and photographer Karla Melgarejo, banker and photographer Masoud Torabi, fashion consultant Jessica Couch of Luxor and Finch, Brittany Hicks of Girls in Fashion and Tech, Youtuber Monica Church, style blogger Tiffany Ishiguro, retailer Moorea Seal, Andrew Hoge of Seattle magazine, and Ayla Hopkins of Voda Health. We are also extremely excited to feature Clara Berg of MOHAI who curated the Seattle style exhibit opening to the public on May 4th.

#2 - We get to talk about fashion all day long
If you think there's no fashion community in Seattle, this event will happily prove otherwise. We've had countless industry professionals attend over the years and they all come back to tell us, "I finally found my people at the Style Summit!"

#3 - The panelists are honest and unfiltered
At the Style Summit, you won't find people reading from scripts to stay "on message", instead, you'll find real people taking a deep dive into subjects that matter most. This year we added a panel on mental health for creatives so that we can have an honest conversation about the highs and lows of blogging. I can't tell you how many times bloggers have come to me in despair because they're upset about the Instagram algorithms or they feel like they can't keep up with their peers on social media. Or worse, they can't find a healthy balance between their online personas and their real life. This is what we sign up for when we embark on our blogging journey and we should all be establishing boundaries in order to preserve our sanity.

#4 - You'll be in the room with key fashion industry players who are open to partnerships and collabs
If you want to get strategic about how to build your fashion brand or business, this is the event for you. The Gossip & Glamour Style Summit draws a unique mix of fashion industry professionals, influencers, and brands who are all doing amazing things in the community and this is your chance to network with them.

#5 - We're offering flexible ticket options this year
Look, we get that a mid-week, daytime fashion event is hard to swing if you have a traditional 9-5 job. (Even though we all know that Tuesday, May 14th might be the day you *happen* to call in sick.) That's why, for the first time ever, we're offering flexible ticket options so that guests can attend in the morning, afternoon, or all day.

I hope you'll join me for an amazing day of insight and inspiration on May 14th at MOHAI! We're going to start off with an overview of the Seattle style exhibit with Curator Clara Berg and end with a Future of Fashion panel hosted by Andrew Hoge of Seattle magazine. It's going to be a full spectrum day of fashion. Get your ticket now! Oh, and if that's not enough to convince you, just check out some of these amazing photos captured by photographer Vivian Hsu from last year's event at W Bellevue.

Let's talk diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry, shall we? First of all, I had the BEST time at the Women of Color FashTech Brunch in New York during Fashion Week. The experience allowed me to be fully immersed in a conversation that covered everything from how to carve out career pathways for women of color in tech, to what is really means to embrace cultural diversity in the workplace. The conversation was raw, unfiltered, and incredibly inspiring. I'm thrilled to announce that I'm part of the team that is helping to bring this fabulous event to Seattle, May 18th at W Bellevue. The #powerbrunch will be part of the W Hotels What She Said event series and feature a variety of female thought-leaders including Brittany Hicks of Girls in Fashion & Tech, Jessica Couch of Luxor and Finch, Brandy Brown of Marabou Design, and Amy Newton, Head of Fashion Partnerships at Amazon. The event will include a fireside panel discussion, brunch, brand activations, and more.

Tickets are $40 and include a 3-course brunch, morning coffee + mimosas, access to the panel discussion, and post-event brand activations and networking. Click here for tickets.

Apr 23, 2019

Sustainable fashion brand Amour Vert is opening its first store in the Pacific Northwest at University Village on Friday, April 26, 2019. Based out of San Francisco, the company currently operates 7 stores in the U.S. and plans to open 6 additional locations this year. The product mix at the Seattle store includes knit tees, silk dresses, organic denim, recycled leather jackets, eco-friendly Veja sneakers, handmade jewelry, and more.

For newbies to the brand, Amour Vert is deeply committed to sustainable practices and does 97% of the apparel production for its clothing line in the Bay Area. The company is focused on employing fair labor practices to ensure transparency within the supply chain and believes in only producing limited quantities of each item to eliminate excess waste. Amour Vert works directly with mills to pioneer new, eco-friendly fabrics, and believes in working hard every day to create a healthier planet for future generations. In fact, for every purchase of an Amour Vert tee, a tree is planted in North America in partnership with American Forest. To date, the company has helped plant over 200,000 trees.

The new Amour Vert store is located next to glassybaby at University Village at 2625 NE Village Lane. Doors open to the public at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 26th.

Meet Sydney

Sydney Mintle is a fashion blogger based in Seattle. She began writing about the local shopping scene back in 2008 and has been sharing her love of indie designers and boutiques with readers all over the world ever since.